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ELL3008S 2007
Essay Topics SHORT EXERCISES These short pieces of work (700 words) are focused around issues of theory or background, and are usually due at the start of a new section of the course (see schedule for dates). They should be personal responses to the set reading, often linking issues from the reading to primary texts; they are not simply summaries of the readings. All three short exercises are compulsory. Look at these more as tutorial exercises than actual essays; while I require full answers (i.e. formal English and not note-form responses) I do not expect you to write much more than the designated 700 words.
EXERCISE 1: Fairy Tale and Postmodernism Set reading: Cristina Bacchilega, "Performing Wonders: Postmodern Revisions of Fairy Tales". Postmodern Fairy Tales: Gender and Narrative Strategies. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997
What are Bacchilega's main points about ideology, folklore and "tradition" versus "performance" in the context of fairy tale? How does she see postmodernism as affecting the fairy tale? How do Byatt's tales seem to you to illustrate any of Bacchilega's points?
EXERCISE 2: Fairy Tale and Feminism Set reading: Patricia Duncker, "Re-Imagining the Fairy Tales: Angela Carter's Bloody Chambers." Literature and History 1984, Spring, Vol. 10 no. 1. What does Duncker argue for the inherent ideological content of the fairy tales, particularly with reference to their representation of women? What does she argue specifically for Carter's postmodern feminist project in The Bloody Chamber? Do you agree with her criticisms of Carter, and why?
EXERCISE 3: Fairy tale and popular culture Set reading: part of two chapters from Jack Zipes, Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales, Children and the Culture Industry. New York: Routledge, 1997. The book is in Short Loan, you'll need to photocopy the relevant pages from it.. NB I have changed the readings for this slightly since the beginning of term. The pages you will need to read:
Zipes describes the development of fairy tale across various technologies in "five brief theses", and goes on to summarise Adorno's arguments about commodity culture and consumerism. What are Zipes's central points about the shifts from oral, to literary, to technological fairy tale, and about the place of fairy tale in a consumerist age? What implications does Zipes's argument about fairy-tale film have for fairy tale in popular literature, in particular Lee's writing? ESSAYS You are required to write TWO essays for this course, one from the first half (literary fairy tale) and one from the second half (popular fairy tale). Essays should be around 1800 words long and should be handed to me in the seminar. Essays are usually due in the week following the last seminar on that particular topic. The course aims at a balance between textual analysis and theoretical background. You will be expected to do some preparation in critical background for each seminar, as well as being familiar with the actual texts we will cover. Your essays should not simply repeat the critical background, however, but should engage actively with the texts themselves. I have given you a reading list of useful material I have made available. You are not obliged to read everything on this list (other than the short exercise readings); select what is appropriate to your topic, and you may also find other relevant material in the library. Readings are available on Short Loan in the library, either as the whole book or as a photocopy. See bibliography for details. When writing your essay, please make sure you address the question, I cannot give you credit for comments which are valid but not on topic. Please note that I will not under any circumstances accept plagiarised work at third-year level. If you’re lucky I’ll refuse to mark a plagiarised essay and will require you to rewrite it. If the essay is already late and is also plagiarised, it will receive a mark of 0. I reserve the right to send particularly bad cases to the University Court, where at best you’ll get a reprimand and will fail the course, and at worst could be expelled. IF YOU ARE IN ANY DOUBT AT ALL ABOUT WHETHER YOU ARE PLAGIARISING, ASK ME TO LOOK OVER A DRAFT. I strongly recommend that you check my page on Common Student Essay-Writing Errors before writing your essay: I will remove marks for grammatical errors which are covered on that page. ESSAY 1: LITERARY FAIRY TALE NB please note that the first essay date has CHANGED: you may now write on either Byatt or Carter for the original Carter deadline, 17th September, after the vac. This is so you don't have to write an essay on top of your class test, or on top of the second short exercise the following week. If you want to hand in your Byatt essay earlier, please feel free to do so. EITHER: A. S. Byatt In a close analysis of one tale from Byatt's collection The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye, discuss its interest in narrative self-awareness. What points is Byatt making about the nature of fairy tale as a whole? OR:
Angela Carter/Neil Jordan Write an essay in which you offer a detailed comparison between one of Carter's tales and its French original (by Perrault or Mme Leprince de Beaumont). What are Carter's purposes and strategies in the revisions she undertakes, particularly in view of her feminist concerns? ESSAY 2: POPULAR FAIRY TALE EITHER:
Tanith Lee
Inversion and subversion characterise Tanith Lee's rewritten fairy tales. In a close analysis of her subversive versions, discuss how far you think the tales simply intend to be shocking. Does their at times popular and sensationalist content flaw their narrative and feminist concerns? OR:
Terry Pratchett
How far can Witches Abroad be described as a postmodern version of "Cinderella"? What are Pratchett's purposes in his inversions and revisions of the tale, and ultimately what is his view of fairy-tale narrative? OR: Fairy-Tale Film
Jack Zipes has characterised fairy tales as “secular instructive narratives” offering “strategies of intervention within the civilising process” (Happily Ever After 65). Compare and contrast Shrek and Beauty and the Beast's respective messages about the individual's relationship with society and accepted behaviour. How far do these ideological issues depend on the operation of traditional fairy tale, and on the influence of the consumer industry?
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